Look Back at Tom Cruise's 16 Most Exhilarating “Mission: Impossible ”Stunts “— ”Including Which Scared Him the Most

Tom Cruise has done countless stunts as Ethan Hunt in the ‘Mission: Impossible’ franchise, but here are the 16 that stand out most

• Mission: Impossible — The Final Reckoning hit theaters May 25
• Franchise star Tom Cruise is known for his daring stunts — some of which have given him injuries
• Here are his top 16 most exciting stunts from the Mission: Impossible franchise

The Mission: Impossible franchise is back — and Tom Cruise continues to raise the bar with his stunts.

Cruise has portrayed Ethan Hunt in the Mission: Impossible franchise's eight films, from the 1996 original through 2025’s Mission: Impossible — The Final Reckoning. Over the franchise's 30-year span, Cruise has done everything from dangling from a wire in Mission: Impossible to motorcycling off a cliff in Mission Impossible — Dead Reckoning Part One.

In PEOPLE’s special issue on the franchise, Cruise explained why he continues doing his own stunts.

“People feel the authenticity. You feel the dedication and joy in learning something and then creating. That is something that I tell artists all the time: Don’t ask permission to create,” he said. “If you’re interested in dancing and singing, do it. I will learn a skill, and I know eventually I’m going to use it in a movie.”

Here's everything to know about Tom Cruise’s most exhilarating stunts in the Mission: Impossible franchise.

Mission: Impossible escape from exploding aquarium

In 1996, Cruise's Hunt kicked off his franchise with one of its most iconic stunts to date.

After being accused of being a mole, Hunt creates a distraction by using an exploding stick of gum to blow up an aquarium. He jumps through a glass window, with 16 gallons of water propelling him outwards.

The scene was so dangerous that co-producer Paula Wagner told PEOPLE that Cruise hurt his foot while shooting it.

Mission: Impossible wire dangling

In the very first movie, Cruise's Hunt created another famous moment when he dangled from a cable attached to his vest while retrieving a list containing all the identities of the IMF’s secret agents. While doing so, Hunt couldn't touch the ground or set off heat sensors, making for a breathtaking stunt.

Cruise told PEOPLE that the scene was partially inspired by actual trapeze artists.

“There were things I wanted to introduce into Mission: that cable and vest I had for the CIA scene? That’s a vest I’d seen going to Cirque du Soleil in the ‘80s,” he said.

Mission: Impossible train jump

In the original movie’s finale, Hunt attempts to confront the real mole Jim (Jon Voight) on top of a train. He does so by luring a helicopter into a tunnel, then jumping from the helicopter onto the train.

To make this happen, Cruise repeatedly swung across a stage, landing hard each time. But co-writer David Koepp told PEOPLE that Cruise was smiling between takes.

“He’s incredibly persistent and focused, and he’ll drive you completely insane because he keeps coming at it and at it and at it,” Koepp said.

Mission: Impossible II cliff-climbing

The first sequel in the Mission: Impossible franchise began with a shocking scene in which Cruise free-climbs a 2,000-ft. rock face in Utah. Although Cruise was wearing a harness — which was edited out — the scene was still extremely dangerous, especially considering Cruise did it with an injured foot.

“I’m climbing up the side of that thing, we had gale force winds, and Sherry [Lansing, then head of Paramount], who’s my dear friend, kept trying to have me come up with a different sequence instead of rock climbing, because it was so dangerous,” Cruise told PEOPLE.

Mission: Impossible II knife fight

In Mission: Impossible II, Hunt fights with the film’s villain Sean Ambrose (Dougray Scott) on a beach, which leads to Ambrose attacking Hunt with a knife. The knife was attached to a cable and measured to be seemingly less than an inch away from Cruise’s eyeball.

Cruise told PEOPLE that this is the franchise’s most underrated stunt. “In M:I-2, with the knife going [so near] my eye, that’s a real knife, not a computer-generated image. How we figure out to get that knife that close to the eye, there’s technical things all of us accomplish together.”

Mission: Impossible III swinging and parachuting from skyscrapers

In Mission: Impossible III, Hunt makes a daring escape after retrieving the coveted Rabbit's Foot. To do so, he leaps off of one skyscraper in Shanghai, swings to another via a fulcrum and slides down the building’s roof while shooting villains.

Hunt subsequently parachutes into the next building, messily sticking a dangerous landing.

Mission: Impossible III bridge run

One of Cruise’s most famous — and dangerous — running sequences takes place while Hunt transports arms-dealing bad guy Owen Davian (Philip Seymour Hoffman), who ends up escaping.

As he runs away from an exploding car, the blast throws Hunt into another vehicle — which resulted in two cracked ribs for Cruise.

Mission: Impossible — Ghost Protocol climbing the Burj Khalifa

In the fourth Mission: Impossible film, Cruise ups the ante even more, scaling the 163-floor, 2,717-ft. Burj Khalifa in Dubai, a.k.a. the tallest skyscraper in the world.

It’s known as one of the most intense stunts of the franchise — as Cruise runs, jumps, sidesteps, swings and dangles his way to the top — but according to franchise actor Simon Pegg, Cruise was loving it.

“I remember leaning out the window and seeing Tom hanging there [with] this big grin on his face,” Pegg told PEOPLE.

Mission: Impossible — Rogue Nation plane hang

Perhaps the Mission: Impossible franchise's best opening stunt happened in the fifth film, when Hunt hangs off the side of a plane. In real life, Cruise wore a harness, but this stunt was so dangerous that even he had second thoughts.

“Going down the runway, I was like, “Oh, maybe this wasn’t such a good idea,’ " Cruise told PEOPLE. “But it’s too late. We’re committed. We’re shooting. The crew’s in there.”

Mission: Impossible — Rogue Nation underwater rescue

In the fifth movie, Hunt must retrieve a stolen digital ledger from an underwater vault while struggling to breathe. For this stunt, Cruise trained with professional divers to learn to hold his breath under water for six minutes.

“Normally in underwater sequences, people hold their breath for 10 seconds, 15 seconds max,” Cruise told Access Hollywood in a behind-the-scenes video. “So I had to prove to everyone that it was actually safe, and spend time with the safety guys and the safety officers to show them, look, not only is it safe, it’s better that I know how to hold my breath because I’m going to be very relaxed. No one’s going to have to rush in, no one’s going to have to panic.”

Mission: Impossible — Fallout leaping across London rooftops

In one of Cruise’s most daring Mission: Impossible jumps yet, Hunt leaps across a series of tall buildings on the London skyline. But after clearing a 30-foot jump, Cruise actually broke his ankle.

Somehow, the actor kept going and finished the shot, which was kept in the film. “He got up and walked past camera to get the shot, which is in the movie,” longtime franchise stunt coordinator Wade Eastwood told PEOPLE.

Mission: Impossible — Fallout HALO jump

Frequently considered one of the franchise’s best scenes, Hunt and Henry Cavill’s August Walker do an intense HALO (high altitude, low opening) skydive out of a plane to land in Paris. They jumped from 25,000 feet, needing to use oxygen masks before deploying their parachutes.

Cavill used a stunt double, while Cruise did the scene himself. The scene was ultimately filmed in just one take.

Mission: Impossible — Fallout helicopter chase

Cruise became known for on-screen aviation with Top Gun, but his greatest flying stunt may have taken place in Mission: Impossible — Fallout. In it, Hunt uses a rope to climb up to the helicopter, takes out a pair of soldiers and flies the helicopter through the peaks and valleys of New Zealand.

Turns out, Cruise has his pilot license and flew the helicopter himself.

“You’ll notice the light comes throughout the glass canopy — [Cruise] oriented the machine that way for the Alpine descents,” Eastwood told PEOPLE. “Whereas, you would just be thinking about your rotor speed because ... if your RPM goes too high, the red blades come flying off, and you’re dropping like a stone.”

Mission Impossible — Dead Reckoning Part One driving through Rome

One of the most memorable scenes in Mission Impossible — Dead Reckoning Part One takes place with franchise newcomer Hayley Atwell —who portrays master thief Grace — and Cruise taking turns driving while handcuffed to each other. The duo weave through the small streets of Rome in mini Fiat 500s at top speeds.

While Cruise was used to these stunts, Eastwood put Atwell through strict training on a track to prepare her for the scene.

“I would knock over a traffic cone, and he’d make me get out, and he’d be like, ‘You’ve just knocked over a piece of expensive equipment, you just knocked over a person,’ ” Atwell told PEOPLE. “He’s like a very strict uncle that gets really good work out of me.”

Mission Impossible — Dead Reckoning Part One motorcycle cliff dive

Despite being nearly 60 years old, Cruise performed his most death-defying stunt yet in Mission Impossible — Dead Reckoning Part One when he rode a motorcycle off a cliff, then skydived to catch a train in Norway. The stunt required eight takes — and Cruise extensively preparing on a motocross track.

“We trained until he was so competent there was no one I could call to come and double Tom — even if he would let me,” Eastwood told PEOPLE.

Mission Impossible — Dead Reckoning Part One train wreck

In somewhat of a callback to the first movie, Mission Impossible — Dead Reckoning Part One’s grand finale also takes place on a train. But this time, it's completely wrecked.

In one of the franchise’s most stunning set pieces, Atwell and Cruise end up dangling from a bridge while holding onto the destroyed train. It’s a cliffhanger to set up the film’s second-part, Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning.